Missing Ending
by penny1200
Summary: Rachel makes a choice that tears the members of New Directions apart, none more so than Puck.


Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. I also do not own 'When It Rains' by Paramore or 'Hero' by Superchic[k], both of which inspired this fic and are utilized within it, or any of the other songs mentioned. This is a tragedy about a mature, sensitive topic. It is nothing like my first story, Treading Water, and there will be no happy ending. You have been warned.  
A/N: To those of you who have already read this, nothing about the story has changed. Given the recent events in the news, I just wanted to push it forward so that people who hadn't read it might because of the story's anti-bullying message. I know Rachel isn't gay, but she's is still tortured unmercifully, so I feel the events in the story are relevant. Please, please, read the disclaimer if you normally skip it. This story handles a very mature, sensitive topic and I don't want anyone to read this and get angry that they weren't warned. If you don't like tragic endings or can't handle sensitive topics, please don't read. I repeat, this story is nothing like Treading Water. Note on the songs: 'When It Rains' is the song that runs through the story, and two verses of 'Hero' will be included at a later point.

_And when it rains  
On this side of town it touches everything  
Just say it again and mean it  
We don't miss a thing_

Puck was running late for practice. He'd been stuck at home with food poisoning the previous two days, and he still felt like crap. And the storm wasn't helping; he cursed as he stomped the brake to avoid the dumbass that ran a stop sign. The rain was so heavy it was sheeting and he couldn't see more than ten fuckin' feet in front of him. He should have just cut practice.

Rachel Berry was the only reason he had dragged his groggy ass out of bed at 10:00 and was now risking his neck on the rain-slicked streets. With Regionals in one week, the crazy stalker girl had somehow convinced Schue to set a practice for today. A Sunday! He could be at home sleeping or murdering zombies on his X-Box. Instead, he was pulling into the school parking lot so he could sing.

Someone might ask why he would be willing to get up before noon for glee club practice for Rachel Berry. He knew it was fuckin' crazy. She was an insane, pushy girl who usually made him want to light himself on fire (a fact that he had shared with _everyone_), but she was also a decent person; the only member of glee who hadn't judged him when babygate broke. They still weren't friends-they _never_ talked-but he knew glee meant everything to her and a very tiny part of him wanted to prove to her that she was right and he wasn't a Lima loser, and that meant showing up to her pointless weekend practice.

When he sprinted through the school's door, he was soaked. She had damn well better be happy that he showed up. He may want to prove he's not a Lima loser, but he mostly came today because he knew if he didn't, Berry was liable to haul her midget ass to his house and wake him up. Not that he would usually argue against waking up with Berry (she may have been crazy, but she was fucking hot-and anyway, crazy usually translated to a hellcat in bed), but he knew she'd lecture him, not fuck him, and he didn't want to deal with that.

When he entered the auditorium, he found the rest of the glee club was present, all except Berry. If she had cut, he was gonna hunt her down and kick her ass since she was the only reason he was even here. He didn't want anyone to think he was into her, so as they prepared to perform their first group number, Aerosmith's 'Same Old Song and Dance', he leaned over to Kurt, who was positioned next to him for the start of the choreography.

"Where's Crazy?"

Kurt rolled his eyes and brushed his bangs back, "She's probably having a diva meltdown because Mercedes got the solo at Regionals."

Puck straightened back up. He must have missed her storm out because he was late for practice. She'd likely be back soon; she never stayed away for long.

Then the music started and he forgot all about Berry as he focused on the choreography (never say he doesn't try at this shit).

_You made yourself a bed  
At the bottom of the blackest hole  
And convinced yourself that it's not the reason  
You don't see the sun anymore_

By the time they had practiced their two group numbers, Berry still hadn't shown. There was a nagging worry growing in the pit of his stomach. Berry was scary-focused on Regionals, so she'd never let a temper tantrum keep her from the extra practice she had gotten. During a quick break, he again approached Kurt, who was sitting on the piano bench.

"Yo, Beyonce, I thought you said Berry had a diva fit and stormed out."

Kurt frowned at Puck. "She never actually came to practice; I assumed she was skipping because she was angry about not having the solo or either of the group leads. We've all tried calling her, but she didn't answer." Clearly finished with the subject, he picked up his water bottle to join Mercedes and Quinn at the side of the stage.

_Berry had never shown?_ The worry he felt grew. _What the fuck are you thinking Puckerman? You're a badass and badasses don't worry about crazy midgets._

So, he could have thrown himself in a dumpster when he approached Schue.

"Listen, Mr. Schue, I'm gonna go check on Berry."

Mr. Schue looked up from where he was making notes on their previous performances. "I think that's a good idea Puck. I just tried to call her again and she didn't answer. I'm concerned that she's not here, especially since I scheduled this practice at her request. If there's something wrong, please call and let me know. Hopefully she just overslept or had car trouble. You do have my number, right?"

Puck nodded. Everyone in glee had Schue's number; he was one of those crazy teachers that actually cared, so he had made himself available to them whenever they needed. Puck had no intention to ever actually use that number though.

As he drove through the rain to her house, his anxiety grew. He blew a couple of stop signs and sped faster than he should have, but he had this annoying as fuck feeling that he needed to get to Berry's house as soon as possible. It was damn strange, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong.

When he skidded to a stop in front of her two story house, he saw that it was completely dark. There should have been at least a couple of lights on though because the storm was still heavy, the sky was as dark as night, and Berry's car was in the driveway. Jumping out of his truck, Puck tore up the Berrys' lawn through the rain and rang the doorbell. When no one answered after his second ring, he tried the door knob. It turned and he entered the house.

_And oh, oh, how could you do it?  
Oh I, I never saw it coming  
Oh, oh, I need the ending  
So why can't you stay just long enough to explain?  
_

The instant Puck entered the house, every hair on the back of his neck stood on end. There was a charged quality to the total silence and total darkness. It was fuckin' creepy and part of him wanted to haul ass out of there. But, he was a fuckin' stud, and studs don't run from empty houses.

He automatically climbed the stairs to the second floor. He'd check Berry's room first; maybe she was asleep and would reward him with some action when he woke her up in time to make the last half of practice. However, when he pushed open her white door with its ridiculous gold star, something that had never happened to him before occurred: all thoughts of sex flew out of his head.

_There's so much blood,_ was his first thought; his second was, _holy shit, that's Berry's blood!_

The tiny brunette was lying on her bed in a large pool of the crimson liquid, a large knife at her side. As he rushed to her, he thought that someone must have broken into the house, but then he noticed the large gashes in her wrists and his heart stopped. He pulled out his phone and dialed 911.

"911. What's your emergency?"

"My friend is bleeding to death," Puck said (he didn't even think when he called her his friend). "I need help. She's unconscious, and I think she tried to kill herself; her wrists are torn apart."

"Where are you located?"

"125 Chicago in Lima," he rattled off without hesitation.

"Okay. You need to check her pulse. Is she still alive?"

_Shit, he hadn't even thought of that. What if she was already...? NO, NO, he refused to think that_. Still, he was relieved when he found her pulse and her heart was still beating.

"She's still alive, but her pulse is really weak. What do I do to help her?"

Puck could see the blood still rushing from her wrists, and he could admit that he was terrified that Berry wouldn't make it until the damn ambulance arrived. There had to be something even a screw-up like him could do to save her.

"The ambulance is on its way; you should elevate her feet and cover her with a blanket. Then you'll need to put pressure on the wound to slow the bleeding," the operator directed.

By the time she had finished her instructions, Puck already had her feet up and the quilt that she kept over the trunk at the foot of her bed thrown over her body. He knew she'd be pissed when she saw the blood stains, but she'd deal. _ Hell, after this, she'd be lucky if he ever let her out of his sight_, he thought as he pushed down on one of her ravaged wrists with the towel he'd taken from her attached bathroom. Because he refused to believe she wouldn't make it out of this alive.

"Sir, are you still there?" the operator asked.

"Yeah, I have to go. I need both hands; both her wrists are bleeding."

Without waiting for an answer, he hung up. Disregarding the blood that was staining his clothes, Puck straddled Berry's legs, knocking the knife off the bed, and placed pressure on both of her wrists, one in each hand. He felt a huge amount of relief when he heard the sirens. _About fucking time_.

_And when it rains  
Will you always find an escape?  
Just running away  
From all of the ones who love you  
From everything_

When the paramedics entered the house, Puck yelled for them. When they hurried into the room, they pulled him roughly away from the bed. All he could do was stand there and watch as they shouted words he didn't understand and tied strips of cloth around Berry's arms. He felt so helpless and that pissed him off. _Badasses aren't helpless_. He was going to kick Berry's ass for making him feel like this. Because she would be okay; she _would_. Then came the words that destroyed him.

"We've lost her."

Puck would always look back and see that as the moment his heart shattered and he knew he would never fully recover. As one of the paramedics stood in front of him, talking, he didn't hear a word. All he heard was a loud buzzing. _She couldn't be gone. They hadn't lost her; she was right there on the bed; he could still see her_. When the other paramedic picked up Berry's slight form to carry her down the stairs to the wheeled gurney, Puck panicked.

"NO! You can't take her! We have rehearsal; she'll be pissed if she misses it!" he yelled at them. He didn't care if he sounded insane-they were strangers; they didn't understand Berry the way that he did.

"Son," said the middle-aged paramedic who had spoken to him earlier. "She's gone. There's nothing more we can do for her but take her to the hospital morgue," he explained bluntly. "Do you have someone you can call?"

Puck nodded mutely. _ Oh, God, he'd have to tell someone else about this_.

"Then I suggest you call them and have them meet you at the hospital. We'll need you to give us information about the deceased. You can ride in the ambulance; you're clearly in no shape to drive."

Eyes glued to Berry, Puck pulled out his cell phone and made his call as he followed them downstairs.

"Mr. Schuester, something's very fuckin' wrong. Can you come to the hospital ER?"

_You made yourself a bed  
At the bottom of the blackest hole  
And you'll sleep 'til May and you'll say  
That you don't want to see the sun anymore_

Mr. Schue met him in the hospital emergency room. Puck watched his worried expression turn sickened when he saw the blood covering Puck's clothing. He'd actually forgotten about that; there were other things that were more fuckin' important.

"What happened? Why are you bloody? Where's Rachel?" Schue asked anxiously.

"She's dead," Puck announced blankly. "She slit her wrists and..." he trailed off, unable to go on. He could feel the fuckin' tears prickling at his eyes and he wasn't going to fucking cry in front of anyone.

"Rachel committed suicide?" Schue, on the other hand, didn't even try to hide the tears that had come to his eyes.

Puck nodded and turned away from him, swallowing around the lump in his throat. When Mr. Schue rested a hand on Puck's shoulder, a single tear rolled down his cheek. Damn it, he couldn't save her; he didn't deserve sympathy.

A nurse approached them and addressed Puck. "Did you arrive with the body?"

At those words, he wanted to hit something; he wanted to scream that she wasn't a body. She was a sixteen year-old girl named Rachel Berry. She was going to be a star on Broadway and she had the best damn voice he'd ever heard. She was crazy and ambitious and nice to everyone, even bastards like him who didn't deserve it. She had great legs and beautiful brown eyes. She had stole his fuckin' heart and he hadn't even known it until he'd felt it shatter today.

But all he said was, "Yes."

She gave him a false-ass sympathetic look as if she knew what he was thinking (she didn't know a fucking thing). "I need you to fill out this paperwork to the best of your ability so that we have some information on the deceased until her guardians are able to arrive. Do you know how we can get a hold of her parents?"

"I'll take care of it," Mr. Schuester volunteered. "They're out of town for the weekend."

The nurse nodded and, handing the clipboard to Puck, walked away.

As Puck sat down to answer the questions about Rachel, he heard Mr. Schuester say, "Hello, Mr. Berry. This is Will Schuester, Rachel's glee director. I'm afraid I have some terrible news."

He tuned out the teacher's voice; he didn't want to hear him describe her death. Instead, he stared down at the papers, but he didn't see anything. All he could see was Rachel. Rachel covered in grape slushie, Rachel smiling at him as he sang 'Sweet Caroline' to her, Rachel breaking up with him, Rachel talking excitedly about ballads, Rachel smiling as she was named glee captain, Rachel angrily singing 'Gives You Hell' to Finn, Rachel quietly accepting that she would have no leads at Regionals, Rachel lying in a pool of her own blood on her bed...

"Puck, I'll help you fill out her paperwork," Schue said, dragging Puck from his thoughts.

Wordlessly handing the clipboard to the older man, Puck was aware of the wetness on his cheeks. Apparently his eyes had never learned that badasses don't cry.

As Schue read the questions he couldn't answer to Puck, Puck learned that he knew more about the tiny girl than he'd even realized. He knew her middle name and her birthday. He was aware of her weight and her blood type (she had once given him a lecture on how important that information was in case of an emergency). By the time he and Mr. Schue had finished answering what they could, Puck just wanted to sleep. Maybe he would wake up tomorrow and find out this had all been a nightmare. _Please, God, let me wake up and find it's just a nightmare_.

When he awoke the next morning and realized the previous day had been all too real, he smashed his guitar against the wall.

_And, oh, oh, how could you do it?  
Oh I, I never saw it coming  
Oh, oh, I need the ending  
So why can't you stay just long enough to explain?_

_Take your time  
Take my time_

There had been no note.

Those were the words the police gave him when they pulled him out of first period history. They had met with her fathers and investigated the scene just to confirm that it had indeed been a suicide and not a homicide disguised as suicide. Because he had been the one to find her, they had wanted to speak with him. They couldn't give him any details, but from the questions they asked him, they clearly believed it had been a suicide.

_There had been no fucking note.  
_  
He couldn't wrap his head around it. She hadn't even left a reason why she had done what she did. She just left them all to wonder, forever, if there was something someone could have done to save her. He felt like someone should have known.

When the police let him leave the office as the second period bell rang, he passed Mike and Matt, who smiled at him, in the hallway. No one else knew that Rachel was gone. Puck was a bastard, but he couldn't bring himself to utter the words to the rest of the glee members. It would ruin their days (and saying the words out loud would make it fucking real). Puck was wandering the halls like a zombie and Mr. Schue hadn't looked much better. He'd also seen Miss Pillsbury crying when he'd passed her office earlier, so he figured Schue must have told her. No one else, wrapped up in their own shallow lives, noticed the changes in the three of them. Puck vaguely wondered if Schue or Miss P would tell the rest of glee or if they'd find out when it was announced to the whole school like the police had said it would be when they were done with their investigation. Puck was too wrapped up in his own misery to give a damn either way.

In second period chemistry it started. He shared chem with Tina. Halfway through, she was pulled out of class and she didn't return. Puck passed her as she came out of Miss P's office, tears running down her face, and he knew that she knew. When he passed Santana, staring blankly at the wall and clearly not listening to a word Brittany was saying, he knew that she had also seen Miss P. And that's how it continued. Mike and Matt were pulled one after the other from the English class he shared with them. Neither returned. When he passed Mercedes and Kurt in the hall on the way to fourth period, they looked how he felt. In gym, Finn put a fist into the wall and Quinn and Brittany were both called out. When he ducked into the men's room before lunch, it was to find Artie, lost in thought, a deep sadness in his eyes.

When he walked into lunch, he saw that all of the glee members, jocks and original gleeks alike, were sitting at one table together, something which had never happened before. Ignoring all of the whispers from the rest of the students (_fuckin' idiots_), he joined them. Nobody was talking and nobody was eating, but nobody was crying either (Tina's tears had dried since second though her eyes were still red). Halfway through lunch, Principal Figgins voice rang out over the intercom and silence fell.

"I am saddened to inform you that McKinley High sophomore Rachel Berry took her own life yesterday. She was declared dead in her home at 10:42 AM. Counselors will be available for any students who need to speak with someone. Now please join me in a moment of silence."

They could still hear the static of the PA system, but most of the students had gone back to their lunches and conversations because they either didn't know Rachel or they simply didn't care. Some of the more respectful students maintained silence in respect of the fallen girl and others bowed their heads and said a prayer for her. Then the moment of silence ended as Figgins thanked them and disconnected, and everything went back to normal in the cafeteria, except at the glee table.

Tina buried her face in her hands and Quinn looked away, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Why are you guys crying?" Brittany asked. "We can just go visit Rachel."

Everyone at the table, except for Tina who kept her head down, gaped at the blonde in shock. They hadn't expected this.

In a choked up voice, Quinn asked, "Brittany, what do you think happened to Rachel?"

Brittany tilted her head. "Well, when my dog died my parents said that he'd gone to live at a farm in upstate New York. So, we can just e-mail Rachel and call her and maybe even visit her."

"Brittany, sweetie," Kurt started in a soft tone, "Rachel didn't move, she died. Her body will be buried in a cemetery. We're never going to see or talk to her again."

Brittany stared at him for a few moments, absorbing his words. Then, she burst into noisy tears. Santana reached out and pulled Brittany into her arms. All Puck could think was that her parents had fuckin' failed her.

"Hey, missing the dead freak?" called Karofsky from the hockey table.

Puck was across the room with his hand around his throat before he'd even realized he'd moved. He pinned him against the wall before planting a fist in the hockey player's face. He was vaguely aware that Finn, Matt, Mike, and Mercedes, of all people, had joined him in the brawl, but most of his attention was focused on destroying Karofsky.

Mr. Schue was the one to pull him off Karofsky. He sent Puck and the other four to Principal Figgins for fighting.

Figgins gave them each one night's detention and sent them to class. He thought Figgins must have understood.

_Take these chances to turn it around  
(Take your time)  
Just take these chances, we'll make it somehow  
And take these chances to turn it around  
(Take my)  
Just turn it around_

When Puck arrived at glee that afternoon, nothing had changed since lunch. Everyone was still silent; some of them were crying. In fact, Brittany had cried so hard that she had thrown up during the homeroom she shared with Puck. Santana, worried that she would dehydrate, was trying to force water on her. Tina was perched in Artie's chair, crying on his shoulder, and Kurt, Finn, and Quinn all had silent tears flowing. Puck sat stonily next to Mike, wondering why in the hell Rachel had never asked for help and why she hadn't left a note. When he spotted Mike's laptop on the floor between them an idea hit him.

Puck grabbed the computer (Mike looked over at him, but didn't stop him). Rachel was a music girl and she used her MySpace for everything. Maybe he could find an answer there. He hadn't visited her page in a couple of months, but he still remembered the address. He typed it in and pulled up the webpage. He clicked the index of her recent videos. As he scanned the names of the songs she had recorded, he grew pissed.

"Did any of you visit Berry's MySpace regularly?" he asked the room in general.

Quinn and Santana exchanged sheepish looks.

"We did," Santana confessed, gesturing between herself and Quinn.

"Why in the hell didn't you say anything?" Puck demanded.

"About what?" Quinn questioned, confused.

Puck read from the list of songs. "'Adam's Song', 'Tourniquet', 'Concrete Angel', 'Cemetery Drive', 'Last Resort', 'Save Me'; for two months all she posted were songs about suicide. Why the _fuck _didn't you say something to someone?"

Quinn and Santana hung their heads but didn't say a word.

"Her last post was Friday night, a song called 'Hero' by some band named Superchic[k]."

Puck clicked play on the video. After it had buffered, Rachel's voice rang out through the room, crystal clear and heart-breakingly sad. At the sound of that beautiful voice that he'd never hear again singing such horrible words, he couldn't hold his own tears back anymore as he'd been fighting to do all day.

_No one sits with him, he doesn't fit in  
But we feel like we do when we make fun of him  
Cause you want to belong do you go along  
Cause his pain is the price paid for you to belong  
It's not like you hate him or want him to die  
But maybe he goes home and thinks suicide  
Or he comes back to school with a gun at his side  
And a kindness from you might have saved his life_

When Rachel looked directly into the camera and sang the chorus about how heroes are made when they make a choice and how a hero could save a life, he cursed the fact that he hadn't seen this video before she had made her choice.

_No one talks to her, she feels so alone  
She's in too much pain to survive on her own  
The hurt she can't handle overflows to a knife  
She writes on her arm, wants to give up her life  
Each day she goes on is a day that she's brave  
Fighting the lie that giving up is the way  
Each moment of courage, her own life she saves  
When she throws the pills out a hero is made  
_  
As the rest of the song played, Puck was trapped in his own memories. The second verse was worse than the first; it was as if she had been confessing that she'd been trying to be brave, but she'd finally given up because she didn't think anyone cared. And he couldn't get past the third line, because her pain had found its way to a fuckin' knife. _Why didn't she tell someone?_

As the song ended, he watched the screen. He prayed that she had said something, anything that would explain her actions. She didn't; she just clicked the camera off and the screen went black.

"Goddamnit!" Puck roared, slamming the top closed and thrusting the laptop at Mike.

"What's your problem Puck?" Finn yelled.

In a warning tone, Mr. Schue said, "Finn." He, of course, knew exactly what Puck's problem was.

"I was there! I was there when she fucking died. I called 911 and I tried to stop the bleeding and then I had to watch the paramedics try to save her. I heard when they said they'd lost her and I had to ride in the back of the fucking ambulance with her to the hospital covered in her blood. And then, I had to tell Schue what had happened and fill out hospital paperwork just so the damn hospital staff would know who she was because her dads were gone and Schue didn't know enough. And she didn't even leave a fucking note; I dealt with all that shit and I will never know why I had to!" When he finished, tears were raining freely down his cheeks and he was breathing heavily.

The rest of the glee club sat stunned by his outburst before Brittany gave a hard sob, clapped a hand over her mouth, and ran out of the room.

"Fuck this; I'm out."

Puck left the glee club that day; it was the last practice he ever attended. To him, _there was just no point without Rachel Berry_.

_And oh, how could you do it?  
Oh I, I never saw it coming  
Oh, oh, how could you do it?  
Oh I, I never saw it coming_

New Directions didn't compete in Regionals that year. With Rachel's death and Puck's quitting, they didn't even qualify anymore. Nobody cared that much though; without Rachel it wasn't the same. They knew they would pick up the pieces next year and they had faith that Puck would return with time (he wouldn't-_there was no fuckin' reason if Rachel wasn't there_).

Puck attended Rachel's funeral with his mother and sister. He tried to stay strong for them, but it didn't work. The best he could say was that at least he stayed quiet, unlike Brittany who had to be led out of the room by Santana in the middle of the eulogy because she was bawling louder than the rabbi was speaking.

He wasn't handling Rachel's death well. He didn't speak to anyone, but he had started fighting more often. When his mother found out he was risking expulsion because of his behavior, she forced him to see a fuckin' psychiatrist. He stayed silent through the first few sessions, but during his fifth, the asshole he was seeing told him that he couldn't let a 'dead girl ruin his life'. He had broke the bastard's nose while screaming about how Rachel wasn't just some random dead girl and he would show her some fucking respect. Then he had a total emotional breakdown as everything he'd been suppressing since he'd walked into Rachel's bedroom two months ago came rushing out. As he walked out of the office that day he thought the asshole had played him to get him to talk. He felt marginally better about that because at least he had broken nose broken the guy's nose.

During the seventh session, the head-shrinker suggested he go to Rachel's grave and tell her what he was feeling about her in an effort to get something he called closure. Puck followed his directions and that is how he found himself standing in front of a slab of white marble that read Rachel Barbra Berry, December 12, 1993-March 23, 2010, A True Gold Star.

Puck felt like a fuckin' pussy, standing there staring at the tombstone as if it could solve any of his problems, and the feeling only got worse as he began to speak.

"Berry, you were an idiot to make the choice you did. Why didn't you just come to me if it was so fuckin' bad? I would have been there. You claimed I wasn't a Lima loser but you didn't trust me to save you. I had to watch you die and I lost my fuckin' heart when you did. There's just a hole there now and you're responsible for it. Somehow your crazy midget ass got into me and I couldn't get you out. I would have done anything to save you, but you didn't even give me a fucking chance. Shit, all you would have had to do is point me to your MySpace page and I would have figured it out. How in the hell am I supposed to move on when I didn't even realize I loved you until I lost you?"

By the time he had stopped talking, tears were once again running down his face (and he was getting fuckin' tired of that shit). He stared at the stone waiting for that closure he was promised, but it never came. He didn't think he would ever get it because without a reason for her suicide, he was missing the ending of the story.

_Oh, oh, how could you do it?  
Oh I, I never saw it coming  
Oh, oh, I need an ending_

When Rachel made her choice, she didn't know how strongly it would affect the rest of glee. But it did; it affected every last member deeply.

Artie and Tina decided that life was too short to let what was a small lie in the scheme of things stand between them. They began to date a short time after Rachel's funeral and were still going strong at graduation two years later.

Finn, having already lost Rachel forever, decided he couldn't stand the thought of losing Quinn in the same way. He finally forgave both her and Puck for the baby and they were all able to move on in a strengthened friendship. After some time, that turned back into a romance for Finn and Quinn.

Quinn decided she wanted to be a psychologist. She wanted to ensure that no one else ever had to go through what her friends had if she could help. She also secretly hoped if she could save others facing what Rachel faced, perhaps it would make up for missing the pleas for help Rachel had sent out in song.

Santana, Mike, Matt, Kurt, and Mercedes learned that the words they speak and the actions they take against others can have a scarring effect even when they don't appear to. There may not have been a note, but they each worried that perhaps they shouldered some of the blame in the reasons behind Rachel's choice although they would never know for sure. Working together, they became a sort of anti-bullying force, standing up for the students who were placed under the Rachel Berry treatment by the rest of the jocks (and it prevented two repeats of Rachel's actions, though they would never know that).

Brittany finally learned the truth about death. This drove her to press her parents for the full truth on anything else they had lied to her about. She was actually quite skilled at digging up the facts which led her to discover her calling in journalism.

And Puck? He learned how to recognize love when he felt it. He eventually healed enough to find that love again, but he could never offer her his whole heart because it wasn't all his to give. Part of it was forever buried in Lima, Ohio with the girl who chose to leave them all forever without a giving a reason.

_So why can't you stay just long enough to explain?_

_You can take your time  
Take my time_

A/N 2: If you read this story, thank you and I promise my next one will be lighter. I'm actually not a fan of tragedy, but this muse has been running around in my head since I listened to 'When It Rains' over a week ago, and I had to get it out. Also, the extensive list of all mentioned/used songs: 'When It Rains' by Paramore, 'Hero' by Superchic[k], 'Same Old Song and Dance' by Aerosmith, 'Adam's Song' by Blink-182, 'Tourniquet' by Evanescence, 'Concrete Angel' by Martina McBride, 'Cemetery Drive' by My Chemical Romance, 'Last Resort' by Papa Roach, and 'Save Me' by Shinedown.


End file.
